M.R. HALL and SCOTT TUROW in Conversation

When
one thinks of legal thrillers, the first name that will come to mind to well
informed readers is Scott Turow.Yes, we
all know about John Grisham but it is Turow that is considered to be the author
that introduced readers to this sub-genre of thrillers.Having just finished writing an article
which was in essence an introduction to legal thrillers it was thus with
delight and anticipation that I attended on Tuesday 12 November 2013 an event
where Turow was talking to a fellow crime writer and former barrister M(att) R
Hall.Unlike most events, which normally
take place in a bookshop this, took place at 7 Bedford Row Chambers, which are barrister’s chambers.

Matt
Hall has written for television and for Kavanagh
QC and was also part of the production company for the television programme
Judge
John Deed.In his introduction, he
mentioned that he always liked reading and of course read Turow, Grisham and
the late Elmore Leonard especially whilst travelling.

Scott
Turow explained that he decided to set his books in the fictional Kindle County
and that some characters from Presumed
Innocent can also be found in different books. Talking about his background,
he pointed out that he started off initially as a federal prosecutor before he
changed “sides” and became a defence prosecutor.Until he became a defence prosecutor, he had
never tried a case.His impulse to write
stemmed from childhood.He found it more
appealing than going to Hollywood or to work in advertising. Hollywood he said
are very unpredictable in their tastes. For example they are now interested in
comic books. When it came to writing his
first novel, he realised that he was not really a short story writer and that
he preferred the long form.He wrote it
in longhand in a notebook and it took him 8 years.He was not conscious of writing a legal
thriller and thought that he was writing a mystery with psychological depth. He
was rather amazed about the way in which Presumed
Innocent took off.

Matt
Hall explained that he was the opposite.He came from a family of writers, went into law and then back to
writing.It took him 8 months to write
his first novel.

Turow
was also asked that why due to the success of Presumed Innocent did he continue to practice? He explained that
there were many reasons why he continued.In Chicago, for example being a celebrity is rare also, he was of the
view that “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”.Furthermore, he liked practising law and
being amongst lawyers.When asked about
the response from his fellow legal colleagues, he stated that the legal
community in Chicago is quite small and most of his legal colleagues were quite
proud of him and the book.

They also went on to discuss his new book Identical.It is about identical twins.The theme is more political than legal.A campaign is wrecked by a security man.Identical
has strong views on political funding and examines how political funding is
affecting political democracy.He
understands the logic of it but thinks that it should be regulated.He feels that there should be a
constitutional amendment so that congress may regulate spending on
politics.One of the other topics that
was discussed was whether or not people realised that writers of fiction wrote
to express their own views.Turow was
clear in pointing out that he was writing novels and not political tracts. He
has no intention of standing on a soapbox as he felt that nothing was black or
white in his books.

Matt
Hall pointed out that he felt that writers of fiction have quite a powerful voice,
which is shown from the fact that fiction is still a potent force, and still a position
of real sincerity.

Turow
further explained that he worked on capital cases and that as a prosecutor he
had worked on a case that had made him think.By the time, he had finished as a prosecutor if he had a death penalty
case her felt that he would have been able to prosecute.As a defence lawyer, he began to rethink his
views on the death penalty.It resulted
in him becoming an opponent of the death penalty.He felt that there will always be cases that
stimulate rightful wrath.One of the
other things of the US system of justice that he would like to see questioned
is access to justice being equal between the rich and the poor.He explained that many poor people were
legally oppressed.

Talking
again about his writing, he said that he normally knew how his novels end but
that this was not the case with Identical.He blundered his way through the book for a
year.

He
was also asked which contemporary British novelists did he enjoy reading?He said that he had a varied taste when it
came to books but Ian McEwan, John Le Carré, Ruth Rendell, Sebastian Faulks and
Sebastian Barry came to mind.

Asked
about his next book Turow explained that it would be set in an international
court.

After
the event Scott Turow and Matt Hall patiently signed books before joining the
reception and chatting to the fans who had come to the event.

More
information about Scott Turow and his books can be found on his website.You can also follow him on Twitter @scottturow and on Facebook.

State
Senator Paul Giannis is a candidate for Mayor of Kindle County. His identical
twin brother Cass is newly released from prison, 25 years after pleading guilty
to the murder of his girlfriend, Dita Kronon. When Evon Miller, an ex-FBI agent
who is the head of security for the Kronon family business, and private
investigator Tim Brodie begin a re-investigation of Dita's death, a complex web
of murder, sex, and betrayal-as only Scott Turow could weave-dramatically
unfolds...